A Little Gem

Written by Michelle Letcher

“She’s our first.”

“She is our only.”

I am not allowed to point it out as I try to blend in, until I can’t.

They are quick to remind me that I am not like them.

“Gentlemen, can I have your attention?” he says as they all look at me, waiting for me to correct the speaker.

It’s gender neutral until it’s not allowed to be.

There is an irony in how you can feel alone in a room full of people. I thought about this as I looked up at the Little Gem Theater sign and pulled out my phone.

I have this passion to research things and understand the history. I like to stand in the places that the ones who made this life possible once stood. A farm in Poland, along a canal in Amsterdam, Ellis Island, the hospital where she took her last breath orphaning my grandmother at the age of one, or the pitcher’s mound at Wrigley Field. There’s a power knowing someone cleared the trail even if I can’t see them.

I can feel them and almost hear them whisper “break trail.” I feel a responsibility to not only acknowledge it but stay curious and seize the opportunities to be better. To move forward from the part of the path that they cleared and carry on their work.

I want to see her, know her, understand her and share her legacy.

It may have been a while since you physically stood in the woods or hiked on a path that is less than worn and found yourself alone and wondering which path to choose. Imagine being in a space and you couldn’t see those before you, and not sure where you might go?

Breaking trail or to break trail is to hike in the lead position, forcing one’s way through untrammeled snow. It is far easier to walk the tracks of someone else who has already “broken” the trail. To cultivate that experience and inspire others to follow.

To change the world.

Think about that.

And I recommend thinking about that, in a way, of how truly remarkable that opportunity, that gift is to break trail. To be in the lead position, and lead others to the change that you, that we, want to see in this world.

The work that the members of Women In Defense do, it drives an energy, a momentum to change and grow. Together we are clearing a path and let’s be honest, it’s less daunting with great teammates.

And so there I stood below the historic Little Gem Theater sign, and I took a breath unsure of what was behind those doors. It was the first time I visited the Gem Theater in Detroit; to be the Keynote for the WID Michigan Chapter. I had recently started a chapter in Texas with a group of powerhouses when we saw a gap in that space, but we were still a young chapter.

I looked at my phone, read about the Gem and smiled as I learned it was a group of local women who built the Century Club in 1903 and then about twenty years later, to gain rental income, they built this movie theater next door. Women breaking trail, with a movement and small businesses driving culture and change in their communities.

Little did I realize that when I walked out of that building, I too would be forever changed by the women in this city, still clearing the trail and driving change in the defense space for their communities and their nation, and I have never been the same.

It’s hard to keep up with the pace and passion they set, and as I walked down the street, I realized that not only can ‘Nothing Stops Detroit’, nothing can stop the trail these women are breaking.

And on this journey with Women In Defense, I have met the most amazing Trail Breakers. Women, who over the course of their careers, had the opportunity to break trail and leave their legacy.

I also like to stand where no one has stood before.

Break Trail.

Michelle Letcher will deliver the kick-off keynote, “Innovation and Efficiency: Leading Next Generation of National Security,” at the 2025 WID National Conference on September 23 in Arlington, VA. She will discuss leading the next generation of national security through innovation and efficiency. WID Michigan Board Member Kim Bode will also speak at the conference during her breakout session, “Unforgettable: Building Your Reputation in National Security.”